Upon This Winter's Night with You
by Nik216
Summary: A simple one shot set a few years before Talia rises up from the Pit. On a cold miserable night she looks to her protector and friend for comfort, warmth and a good story.


**AN: Yea, don't ask me where this came from- lately I have been having the strangest dreams, and I have given up on trying to make sense of them…apparently Bane and Talia have taken up residence in my subconscious for the time being. I am not worried at the moment- but just in case, if anyone sees Eames about…send him my way ; )**

**Normally I **_**never **_**stop mid-story to write something else, but I needed to take a little breather from "Not All That Have Fallen Are Vanquished"; mostly because I need to figure out where I want to take it…Joker apparently doesn't like his stories to have a 'plan' either, and he has been making this difficult! **

**So, you'll all just have to deal with the one shots that have been popping up until then…tough I know. XD. (And FYI…they are **_**all **_**over the place content wise…so you have no idea what is coming next : ))**

**For this one, if you aren't familiar with the myth of Hades and Persephone…it isn't necessary, but it is cool to read up on…**

**Still own nothing but my thoughts…and even that is pushing it lately… **

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"…a chasm opened up in the earth and out of it coal black horses sprang, drawing a chariot driven by one who had a look of dark splendor, majestic, beautiful and terrible. He caught her to him and held her close. The next moment she was being borne away from the radiance of earth in springtime to the world of the dead by the king who rules it." ~Edith Hamilton, _Mythology_

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A shiver wracked her delicate frame again and it finally woke her from her wary rest. Talia opened her blue eyes and instinctively drew her legs up and into her chest, curling herself into a tight ball as she burrowed further into the safety of the old maroon blanket that had once belonged to her mother, praying that it would somehow warm her. It was so cold; she felt it down to her bones and she knew she wouldn't find sleep again soon. Without making a sound she lifted up her head and carefully took in her surroundings in the near darkness, the continual patter and splash of the rain could be heard on the stone all around her, but the other prisoners were thankfully quiet. It was moments like this where if she squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated as hard as she could, she could almost imagine that she was somewhere else, somewhere safe and free. She tried to imagine the forests and oceans that she'd heard about in stories told to her since her birth- but she couldn't think about anything but the chill in the air and the way it nipped at her nose.

A groan of frustration and impatience finally came from her little body as she sat up and looked into the corner of the dirty, damp cell; her eyes lighting on the large form of her friend and protector as he sat with his back to her in front of a small pile of coals, occupying himself in the silence instead of sleeping. He didn't respond to her noise right away and Talia whimpered again, this time a bit louder.

"I heard you the first time little one." Bane grumbled with a sigh as he put another bit of fuel onto the meager fire, "Can't sleep? Or is there another reason you are demanding my attention- are you sick?"

"I'm cold." She answered grumpily, "_Why _is it so cold and wet now? It isn't like this all the time."

He chuckled at her petulance for the winter monsoon season and beckoned her over to him with a wave, "Well, come over here then and warm up by the fire." She jumped off the straw mattress and scurried over to him, climbing in between his crossed legs and settling on his lap with her blanket. "Better?" Talia nodded silently as her body immediately flushed with warmth from the flames and the seemingly unending heat from his body, even through the coarse rags he wore. Bane rested his chin on the top of her scruffy head and picked up his hands, resuming the weaving and crocheting he was doing; using his fingers instead of a tool.

"How long is it going to be cold like this?" She asked quietly as she began to play with one of the braided leather cords around his wrist, "I hate it."

She felt him laugh gently as he sighed, bringing his face down until his soft lips were right beside her ear, "It is the winter season, little one- it will last a few months and then spring and summer will be upon us again. Just as it was the year before, and the year before that, and the year before _that_…" Bane tickled her ribs playfully and Talia jumped, giggling loudly. "This is nothing new to you, you are going to be ten soon."

"I know how old I am," She answered, her voice muffled as she pulled the blanket up higher on her face. "But_ why_ is it like this?"

He shrugged and pulled his head away, looking down at her with a measured look in his sharp, hazel eyes, "You remember how I told you that the heavens move, the Earth around the Sun?"

"Yes."

"Well, picture the Sun to be the fire," Bane held her wrist gently in his larger hand and reached them out towards the flames, moving it first close and then pulling it away, "see how you are warm when close and cool when far away?" She nodded in understanding, "That is what the seasons are. When we are close to the Sun we are warm- the summer, and when we are a little further away, we are cool-the winter."

"Oh," Talia answered, "That is all?"

Bane smiled wryly and shook his head at her seeming disregard for the wonders of physics and the Universe, "I suppose if you find _that_ to be simple and uninteresting, I have to wonder about what impresses you, dear one."

She turned to look up at him, a look of genuine interest on her face, "Is there a myth about it? A Greek story? Like the one about Pandora or Helen of Troy? I like those better than boring talk about science...it has no imagination in it."

He thought for a moment about the tales that his mother had told him as a child, trying to remember the one that she had requested; and after a second of recollection he shifted her in his arms and stared down sternly, "Will you go to sleep if I tell you? It is late, and I do not want to hear you grousing tomorrow on our errand walks that you are tired."

Her large, sapphire eyes lit up instantly, "Yes! I promise! Please, please tell me, Bane."

"Alright," he answered, trying not to laugh himself at her absolute exuberance over such a silly thing. "Do you remember the story I told you about the fall of the Titans? About the three Olympian brothers: Zeus, Poseidon and Hades?" A little nod had him continuing, "This story is about Hades and the daughter of Demeter, the harvest goddess."

"The God of the Dead?" Talia whispered sadly, her thoughts wandering to her mother right away; she couldn't stop the tears that came into her eyes and spilled down her cheeks.

"Yes." Bane answered as he held her close, wiping her cheeks with his thumb, unconsciously beginning to rock her in his arms to soothe her sadness and pain, "Does it bother you to hear? I will talk about something else."

She sniffed and shook her head, as she curled into his chest, pulling at a piece of frayed thread at the collar of his shirt, "No, it doesn't bother me- death is a part of life, you told me that. I just miss my mother."

He nodded and continued, "Then you will understand the story all the better little one. Because this story is also about a young goddess who loved her mother- her name was Kore, and her mother Demeter cherished her so much that when she was born she hid her away from the other gods and goddesses by taking her here on Earth to live. You see, Kore grew up to be so beautiful and so pure that Demeter was afraid that if she brought her to Mount Olympus she would be stolen away by one of the gods as a wife immediately. So she kept her all alone."

"That wasn't nice; she must have been lonely with no friends." Talia interrupted, "I would have been _very_ lonely if my mother had kept me from talking to you."

"Are you going to let me tell the tale or what?" Bane scolded playfully, "You need to sleep soon."

"Sorry, I'll be quiet."

"I am _sure_… anyway, where was I? Ah, yes- so if you imagine Kore's loneliness, I think the only divine soul who felt it worse was probably Hades. He was charged with ruling the Underworld and had done so completely alone; a King with no Queen at his side. One day in his gloomy kingdom amidst the darkness, he was watching the world above when he saw a goddess dancing and picking flowers with nymphs in a field. As he watched her he was filled with such joy, her shining and her grace completely entranced him- so he decided that he would take her for himself. He summoned his chariot, drawn by six, mighty black beasts; and rose up to meet her. The very ground split open on his command and he held out his dark arms, _snatching_ her away and taking her into the shadows." He emphasized the action by suddenly squeezing her tight, smiling as she jumped nearly a foot in surprise before laughing and smiling.

"What happened next?" The eager girl asked with a grin, "She must have been so scared."

"Most likely," Bane answered with a shrug, "though when he brought her back to his great palace he made her his Queen, and she took the name Persephone; sitting by his side on her own throne. But her mother was frantic at her disappearance, and after finding out she had been stolen by Hades she punished the world by refusing to bless the crops of men; sending the world into a freezing cold winter. In fact it was only after many, many people died that the mighty god Zeus, Kore's father, saw fit to interfere; demanding that Demeter return the warmth and prosperity to the harvest -she refused. So he, as a just ruler, demanded that Hades return to Olympus with his wife so that she could be returned to her mother and mankind could be spared."

"Why didn't they just ask her what_ she_ wanted?" Talia asked quietly, "That would have been fair."

"I assume they thought they knew what was best for her," he answered honestly, "as parents often do."

"And even though he was the elder brother and King of his own realm, Hades had to obey Zeus; so he took Persephone to Olympus- but not before he gave her a gift, a pomegranate from his personal gardens."

"What is that? Is that a flower?"

"No, it is a fruit- bright red and full of sweet, ripe seeds. It is quite frustrating to eat, but so very worth it." He trailed off for a moment as he recalled a simple memory of his own mother handing him such an offering as a boy, with a shake of his shorn head it was gone again. There was no use to dwell on such things- they were of no help to him now, nothing but sad dreams of a life that might have been.

"She ate six seeds," he mumbled quietly. "And because she had willingly eaten food from the Underworld, she could never leave. But Zeus, being the most powerful god, came to a compromise; for part of the year Kore would dwell on Earth with her Mother- and in her happiness the warmth and prosperity would come to the harvest. And for the other part of the year Persephone would descend into the Underworld and rule with her husband as the Queen of the Dead. In her grief, Demeter would allow the cold to come and swallow the Earth. So when the spring comes again, little one, you will know that it is the beautiful goddess returning to the world above."

Bane finished the story and looked down at the girl, who had a rather sad and perplexed look upon her face. Her small, delicate brow was furrowed and he couldn't help but ask, "What is wrong?"

"Did he love her?" Talia finally questioned, "Hades, I mean, he _must_ have loved her to make her his wife."

The question completely took him by surprise, and Bane began to wonder if this wouldn't be the moment that she started to ask questions about things that he knew absolutely _nothing_ about. He had been down in the Pit for so long that despite the fact he was nearly twenty, he had never really met a woman, barring her mother, and certainly knew nothing about love in the romantic sense. He knew that he had loved his own mother, and he felt affection for the warlord's daughter that had been kind to him and brought his little Talia into the world- but he didn't think that counted in the way that a man would love his wife.

"I thought we were talking about the seasons," he grumbled, frustrated at his own realization and feeling of absolute inequity at the situation, "I have no idea if he did- why would _that _matter?"

A loud yawn finally slipped through her mouth and she snuggled into him dozing off, warm and secure, "Because if she loved him, it was wrong for them to be separated. I would never let anyone, even my father if he was as powerful as a Zeus; keep me away from someone _I_ loved."

Her simple statement hung in the air long after the girl's breaths had relaxed into the calm, deep pattern of sleep. Bane absently stared off into the glowing pile of coals with a partial smile curling the corner of his full lips- she never ceased to amaze him. A child born in hell, who knew nothing but suffering and was growing harder and harder each day from the pain that surrounded her, and yet she was so innocent- so full of hope. It was beautiful. As he settled back against the unforgiving stone wall of his cell, yawning his own exhaustion into the dark cold night he resolved that until he drew his last breath he would do anything in his power to make sure that Talia would have a chance to escape this place and have the life she deserved. She would know simple things, like dancing in a sunlit meadow, pomegranate seeds- and love.

And perhaps, if his sacrifices and actions were deemed worthy by whomever or whatever existed beyond this forsaken prison- maybe he might be lucky enough find it too.

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**Aww…right! Poor guy…he just deserves a hug…**

**And I am blaming the sappiness and wistful tone of the whole thing on a conversation with my nine year old niece...perceptive little bugger.**

**Well if you liked it, please let me know…reviews are love…and I promise to return to the main event soon!**


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